Savi and Suna's voyage
by Notallalone
Summary: Mal and his crew take on a job that involves transporting a 17 year old and her 14 year old friend . Adventures ensue. Warning. This story may contain spanking of teens. Please let me know if you enjoy the story; that will make me want to write more... I also appreciate help with my writing. Thanks.
1. Chapter 1

Mal and his crew had been stuck on Mobul, one of the main planets, for almost a month. They did not have enough fuel to go looking for jobs elsewhere and it was more likely for them to get a job in this wealthier part of the skies.  
Except for Inara, who liked the jobs she was getting, the manners of the locals and the places she could visits and shop, no one on Serenity seemed to enjoy the atmosphere let alone the people around this particular planet. It seemed as if no one there even knew that other planets were not as well off as this one. Most of all, there was no awareness of the dangers in the sky, or at least it appeared that way.  
"Must be nice to live in such a bubble" Mal grunted as him, Jayne and Kaylee walked about the area where they heard it was more likely they could find a job. " It is..." dreamed the girl, forgetting for a moment that she was wearing stained coveralls.  
The three found a bar of sorts and decided to hang out for a while and see if they would hear word of any work.  
Two well dressed men were sitting at the corner table and watched this odd bunch walk in and settle down to some pretty hard drinks. It was pretty clear to the two that this particular lot must not live in their mists and that they were looking for underground work, something off the Alliance's radar.  
Mal was soon approached by the younger of the two guys, while the other observed at a distance. Even though Jayne was a bit larger than the captain and had more of a bad ass look, it seemed pretty obvious that Mal was in charge. Maybe it was his walking in ahead of the other two, maybe the serious look on his face or just the way he held himself; whatever it was,the younger well dressed man walked right up to him and asked permission to pull up a chair next to him. Mal nodded but his head moved just enough to the side to indicate for the young man to pull up a little further away than he had initially intended to.  
It did not take long for the two to get to the point: James, the young man, was inquiring about what jobs the captain was willing and able to do and Mal was trying to get the real deal on what this job really was. That's when James invited Mal, and just Mal, to move over to the older gentleman's table.  
" We usually get the scoop on jobs together..." said Jayne, sounding confident. "We do? " thought Mal, but he left it as just a thought, not keen on undermining his crew in front of strangers. "It's ok Jayne" he said instead, "we'll talk about it a little later".  
"That means he will let you know what he decided, all by himself, about what he's getting us into" Kaylee whispered in Jayne's ear, just to make sure he knew which end was up.

Mal quickly learned that even this older gentleman was not the guy looking to contract him, but just another step before he got to the customer. All he knew now was that someone needed to be transported to another Alliance planet, Makura; the tricky part being that it was the most removed of the Alliance planets, meaning that they would have to fly though dangerous skies, Reavers and all. "Why not go the official route, fancy ships and all?" asked Mal. This is when he was informed that he could meet the customer later that night at a private residence.

The Captain and his partial crew returned to the ship for a while, checking in with the others . Wash and Zoe were nowhere to be found, which only meant one thing. Mal and Jayne exchanged a knowing look and a smirk.  
Simon was studying some books he had scored the day before while out with River. His sister was laying on the floor in her bunk staring at the ceiling, wishing she had been allowed to leave the ship with Mal and Kaylee and Jayne.  
Jayne and Kaylee explained to the rest of the crew over dinner why Mal was out and they all got a little excited about the prospect of a job AND getting out of Mobul.

Mal met with the customer at a residence that was one of the fanciest he had ever seen. It sounded like this man, whose name he still did not know, needed his daughter to be transported to Makura to attend a prestigious school. Alliance ships were not safe as this man had enemies and some of them had connections with the Alliance. Officially this man was good with the Alliance, but someone could get to his daughter in one of their ships. Hence the need to hire someone that could transport her safely to the planet she would be staying at for the next two years.  
"I don't transport children" Mal said, thinking that River was not a child, really, and that he was not transporting her.  
"Savi is not a child" the man said almost amused, "she is a young woman of seventeen, and I am willing to make it worth your while".  
Mal liked the sound of the compensation and since this would only take maybe three weeks, it did sound like a good job after all. He would also be given papers to show to the Alliance, just in case, but with a warning to make a run for it should things start to look bad and his daughter be in danger.  
Mal agreed in principle to the terms of the job and this is when two teenage girls walked in the room. One was clearly the man's daughter, by looks and demeanor. The other looked more like a servant of sorts. She was probably a couple of years younger, her skin pale and her hair flaming red; she also had blue markings on her forehead, like a tattoo. Mal knew this a meant she was of a lower caste on this planet . The girls seemed friendly and acted like sisters almost.  
Roger, the father, introduced his daughter Savi and her companion Suna. They both walked up to Mal, Savi in front, confident and smiling and Suna almost hiding just a bit behind her, clearly the shy one of the two.  
Roger informed the girl about the arrangements and that this would all have to happen the next day. Savi made a sad face and turned to look at her friend. "Can Suna come with, just for the trip and then come back here?" "No" Roger said" Suna is not allowed to leave this planet and besides, that would cost me extra to have the captain have to come back again"  
"But Father! I am not ready to say goodbye to Suna yet and it would be much, much more fun to have her along, right Suna?" From the looks of the little redhead she did not really like being put in that position. "This is going to be interesting" thought Mal.  
What happened next would take a chapter from a psychiatric text to explain, but Mal saw it all unfold and did not utter a word: a very smart 17 year old bat her eyes just enough, pout just enough and move about the room in a very calculated flirtatious manner. She spoke fast and did not make the mistake of sounding too whiny. She was good, really good. Her father tried to explain that her friend would be in danger of being taken by the Alliance with the possibility of not returning home to her family. Savi explained how this could be Suna's only chance to ever see the skies and travel. It did not take much more than that and Roger agreed. He checked with Mal, finally.  
"Sounds a bit selfish to endanger the girl" was the best he could do at the moment, still fascinated at how this girl had worked her dad. "But I really want to go, please?" Suna came to her friend's rescue and Mal knew Roger had made up his mind.

"So be it" the Captain said and shook his head just a little. Savi noticed and moved closer to Mal and he knew immediately that she was going to try and work on him now, so he looked her in the eyes for a few seconds and said " not with me..." and turned around to face Roger.  
The two made arrangements for the girls to be delivered to Serenity in the morning, as well as 2/3 of the payment. The last 1/3 to follow upon Suna's return.

Mal came back to a sleeping crew and started mapping out the itinerary, but without Wash it seemed impossible to make much sense of the maps he was looking at.

At breakfast Mal informed the crew of the job he had secured for them. Kaylee and River asked about the girls , their ages first.  
"17, huh?" Jayne said "that older one pretty?"  
"Don't even think about it Jayne, and as for your question, I don't know , did not look at her well enough"  
Mal thought about that a moment. It was true, he had not really looked at her much. He supposed she must have been ok enough, dark hair seemed like, not tall, not short. Normal girl he guessed. He had never been one much attracted to young girls, not that young, anyway. He better keep an eye on Jayne though.

The girls showed up with a lot of bags. Zoe, Kaylee and Wash waited for the payment and headed out to get supplies.  
Inara and River showed the girls their bunk, while Mal talked some more with Roger. The guy seemed nice enough but Mal had lost just a bit of respect for the man after seeing how his daughter had worked him over.  
Mal thought about the logistics of the trip and how he would rather keep the girls among themselves to avoid any trouble.

He wanted to talk to Inara about his concern mostly over Jayne and Savi, but he also needed to show confidence about the cargo that both Zoe and Wash had expressed some worry over.

Serenity took off a few hours later. After half a day and now in some fairly safe skies, the crew met up for dinner. Simon had put together a pretty decent meal and the crew seemed happy to have something fresh for a change. Introductions were finally over and Mal noticed how Inara was observing Savi while she met everyone at the table. Inara, now there was a woman that Mal could not help but notice; beauty, brains and a way about her that exhumed confidence and strength. Mal was so focused on Inara that he missed what she didn't: Savi had a completely different way about her when she spoke to the guys on the ship. You could say it was subtle, but not to Inara. She had Jayne so mesmerized, he barely ate. Wash knew better than to give her too much attention. Simon had something on his mind, but he seemed to enjoy her company quite a bit. Suna did not say much throughout dinner but she was friendly with the new people she was meeting. River was down right studying Savi and Simon had to nudge her twice as she made some odd looking faces trying to imitate Savi.

Savi kept looking over at Mal and was getting a little frustrated that he was either looking at Inara or at her without really responding to the stories she was telling the crew. She was not used to being ignored .

Over the last two years it seemed like she was getting a lot of attention by men and maybe because she knew she was not stunning, but a nice looking girl, she liked the attention. She had practiced on her dad since she was little and since her mom had died during childbirth, he let her if not quite encouraged her. Savi was only looking for some attention, her father thought, but he did not know about the trouble that had gotten her in just a few months previously. The short version of that sad story is that in her pursuit of the attention of a man that was visiting her father, she ended up getting more than she had bargained for . In the man's eyes she had invited his moves, his hands to explore her most intimately. She had protested only mildly, feeling guilty for being such a flirt with the guy. She managed to find an excuse for leaving his room and ran to hers to cry herself to sleep. Not even Suna knew about this. Still Savi did not spend much time reflecting on why she kept on seeking grown men's attention. She liked it but to a point.

As they finished dinner, Inara broke a mostly comfortable silence by saying" Savi and Suna, kindly clear the table and then help Walsh with the dishes." Everyone looked up a bit surprised. It was Wash's turn and if anyone it would be Mal to address any changes in the cleaning arrangements. Mal was tired and distracted but he knew eyes were on him and he made the best of it " yup. Actually I need Wash to look over some maps with me, so the two of you's just do the whole thing. Jayne you show them where everything is, ahhhctually no, Simon you do that".  
"What? I don't mind captain, I sure don't" protested Jayne.  
"Or maybe you to do the whole thing yourself Jayne?" Questioned Mal, no longer distracted.  
"Ehm, no Captain, I reckon Simon can show them, just like you said. Go ahead Simon, get a move on it buddy" Jayne replied, trying to gain back a little face and show some pull of his own.  
Simon was not one to play that kind of game and got up with the girls.  
Mal let Jayne do his little power thing, as he was glad the girls just got up and started clearing the table. "This might go well after all" he smiled to himself.

Simon helped clear the table and then showed the girls where everything was in the kitchen. When he was about to walk out Savi called him back " Simon, it would be so very nice of you to help...I mean keep us company "  
Simon would have, but he had interrupted his medical research to make dinner and wanted to get back to it, so he kindly declined.  
Savi and Suna, the latter mainly, got to work and soon had most of the dishes done. Savi was trying to be helpful but she was not used to working and seemed to get in the way of the little redhead more than anything.  
Suna was filling the sink a third time for the last batch of pots and pans. "Come on Suna let's go see what everyone else is doing" " But Saviii, we should finish first. Oh, but maybe these could use to soak a little"  
And so the two friends got to explore the ship a bit.  
They spent some time trying to have a conversation with River but that was pretty hard. Suna seemed to get River a little more than Savi did. Savi found Jayne working out in the cargo area. Suna was tired and fell asleep on a crate of supplies while Jayne tried to talk a little and continue to work out in front of Savi. All was going well, Jayne thought, until Mal stormed through the door.

He looked around to find Suna curled up in a ball that looked too small to be real, and Jayne without his shirt on showing off another pull up to Savi, who was wearing the smallest shirt Mal had seen in a while.  
"What in the Goram planet is going on here?" The captain short of yelled out.  
"Captain, Mr Jayne here was telling me all about the last job where he saved the ship from Reavers...and Suna is tired from all the work...we did...?" Savi tried her best to sound innocent but still sincere.  
Jayne just hopped off the bar and reached for his shirt looking a little embarrassed, mainly when Savi told about his heroic adventure.  
Suna woke up and tried to figure out what was going on.  
"Jayne and the Reavers, well, that's one story...what about not finishing the work I gave you two?" He said looking over at where Suna had been curled up, but by now she was walking as quietly as she could toward Savi.  
Mal was not very happy at finding a sink full of pots when he went to fetch something to drink before going to bed. But he was more upset at the scene he walked into just now. He tried to think fast and figured he could only be so mad since he had not made things clear to the girls, nor to Jayne as far as boundaries. He would talk to Jayne in private later.

"You two...I expect you to help out around here. Your fare included the voyage and food and a bunk. No service, no maid. Everyone needs to pitch in. What I say here goes" as he gave Jayne a serious look" and that is that. Jobs I assign you need finishing or there will be consequences, clear?" At this Suna started to slowly walk toward the captain while Jayne muttered " yes captain..". When Suna stopped she was probably three feet away from Mal. She looked so small compared to Mal, both Savi and Jayne thought, yet she straightened herself and looked up into his face and said "Captain, I decided to let the dishes soak so we could take a break. I knew at the time we should just finish the job but I decided to leave anyway. Then I fell asleep and never got back to it..."

Savi thought she should help her friend at this point but nothing Suna said was untrue and she just wanted to see how this all played out. Jayne was too busy looking at Savi to understand what was going on, but he still thought that little thing was a brave one. Suna on the other hand was not feeling brave at all but was trying hard not to show it.  
Mal was taken aback. He figured that since he had not explained the rules and expectations he was going to leave it at that. Now this little girl was looking at him with some fear and yet straight in the eyes. In general he liked his crew to have some fear driven respect for him, and he knew any kid on board would mind better that way, but he was not expecting this. Before he could say anything Suna continued " I know I did wrong and I am ready to take my punishment Captain" Mal understood that in her social rank, which all were constantly reminded of by her markings on her forehead , there was little room for disobedience. While he looked at her somewhat impressed and deciding what to do next, Savi interrupted with " oh come on Suna, the Captain doesn't hit people like you are used to". While Mal tried to figure out what that meant exactly, Jayne exclaimed " oh yes he hits, and hard too.." and started punching the air " right captain"?  
Mal looked down at Suna who seemed more worried by the second. He reached for a small crate and sat down closer to the red headed girl. She was still looking at Mal and tried to sound brave as she said " like that, Captain?"  
Mal looked Suna in the eyes as he moved his arm around her side . After saying " no, not like that" he reached for her bottom and gave her one single smack "like this. If I have to". It did not hurt, but it was not a playful swat either. For a moment Suna thought it was the first of a series and she closed her eyes and tightened her body just a little. Mal saw this and figured this girl would not be much trouble and he also felt for her. Suna opened her eyes and realized Mal was not going to smack her again, but she understood the message, that he would if she gave him reason to. Mal squeezed her shoulder a bit and after she moved back next to Savi he said" Savi, looks like your friend took all the blame here. I will leave it at that for now. You two can finish the kitchen in the morning."  
After the girls walked out Mal detailed for Jayne how he was to stay away from the girls, particularly Savi, unless there was a need for him to be round her. Definitively no time alone with her. Jayne huffed and called this bullshit and Mal let him, because he knew Jayne understood how serious Mal was about this by his tone and the look he gave him.

Savi was glad that Suna made out ok; even though the little redhead was technically a servant in her family, she cared for her. She wanted to be as loyal and kind to her friend as Suna was to her; she just did not know how and tonight was just another example.  
"Did that hurt?" She asked once they were alone in their bunk. "No, it didn't. But I bet the captain can make it hurt. Did you look at his hands? They are big and calloused!" Savi realized that she never even thought about that and that her younger friend, having seriously considered this had taken notice of his hands at some point during their interaction. "I don't like the captain much, Suna, I bet you don't either huh?"  
Suna thought about this and replied " I don't know him enough, I guess, but he seems all right to me. "  
Savi laid down and thought about why she said she did not like the captain much. She didn't because he did not seem to like her, or even notice her, for that matter.  
"Good night. And thank you for taking the blame. You could have told about my encouraging you to leave the job unfinished" Savi thought the captain probably figured she had something to do with it and that wasn't scoring her any points either...

On his way to his own bunk Mal ran into Inara and filled her in on the night's events. "That Savi, she is used to getting her way with men and she is good at it. Better watch your crew. She's too young for the kind of trouble she could get into. You are the perfect man for the job Mal, she needs someone like you. I bet right now you are very confusing to her". Inara spoke truthfully. She did not dislike the 17 year old, nor did she feel threatened; she was just concerned of what this girl could potentially get into either now or at some point in her life.  
" yeah, well,I either keep her locked away from all of us or this becomes a project I did not bargain for.." Mal mumbled as he walked off in the narrow hall, wishing he hasn't brought up the girls with Inara and instead entertained something more interesting with her.

Morning came way to soon for both girls and Suna prompted Savi to hurry up and get to finishing their job in time for someone else to be ale to cook breakfast. The two ran out their bunk and down the hall, around the corner, almost right into Mal and Kaylee. Suna came to a sudden stop and then pushed herself against the wall as she passed the Captain and the mechanic, managing not to touch either. She did look up at Mal while squeezing into the wall, wondering if she could fit by him without touching. Mal, a bit amused, tried to push his own frame against the opposite wall to accommodate the lithe girl. Suna made it by Kaylee without effort. Savi knew she could not achieve that so she tried a little conversation " morning Captain, Kaylee, should we toss a coin to see who needs to back up here?"  
"You'll have to.." was all Mal,said. He did not sound mean,just matter of factly. Savi had hoped for a little more conversation or even a smile..but she could tell from all eyes looking at her that no one else was in the mood for her game this morning. But didn't the captain smile a bit at Suna?

Mal and Kaylee resumed their conversation and it sounded like engine parts and other boring stuff to Savi, who turned around and walked a few yards to a wider area around the corner. The two adults passed her and Kaylee nodded with a smile.

Once the girls made it to the kitchen Simon was already there and had started on the dishes. "Oh, , we will do that. Sorry we left a mess for you" Suna said a little worried. Savi chimed in with " but maybe the doctor does not mind helping us out a bit, do you doc?"  
Simon was almost done and was about to reply with that simple fact, when Suna protested " no Savi! please doctor let us finish up, please?"  
Simon was surprised at the girl's urgency and moved to the side to make room for her. Savi was more interested in talking to Simon than helping her friend. She started asking him questions about his home planet and pulled up a tall stool to sit on to be more eye level with the man. Simon was about to answer another question when she saw him look past her at the door. She didn't have enough time to turn around before she felt someone, Mal, gripping her arm and almost lift her off the stool and back down to the ground. She did not like to have to look up at the men, but for a moment thought about using this to her advantage. Before she could think about the particular angle she wanted to work Mal almost yelled out " I let last night pass without asking more questions, now I get the picture a little better! You have no problem having Suna do the work for you and take the blame too. That will not fly here. You do your own part and then take responsibility for where you fail to live up to the expectations!  
" Mal...I was going to help her.." Tried Savi.  
" it's either Captain or Sir to you and you do not interrupt me, understood?" Mal was waiting for an answer but Savi just stood there with a defiant look on her face. "Savi?" Mal demanded.  
" oh, are you done? I did not want to interrupt you " Savi said with a sigh.  
Simon watched this interaction with interest and Suna with a horrified look on her face.  
" you keep this up and you will face the consequences of being a smartass Savi."  
" what are the consequences , Captain ? " Savi asked and Mal knew she was sincere in her question if with an attitude.  
Mal sighed. Fine, here it goes, he thought, just as Jayne and Kaylee walked into the kitchen. Having a bigger audience did not deter the captain from spelling this out clearly for Savi, and Suna too.  
" The consequence for being disrespectful to me is going to be you getting spanked. How hard and how long depends on how far you push me. The consequence for not doing as I tell you, is going to be you getting spanked. The consequence for any lying, stealing and other nonsense , is going to be you getting spanked..."  
"I get it, ok, stop!" Savi yelled out wishing she had never asked the question, focusing more on the raised eye brows and slightly embarrassed faces looking around the room, than on the actual information she was getting.  
".. The consequence for yelling at me is going to be you getting spanked" Mal added a little louder" and now that you know, you will not get a pass again. Anything else I need to cover?"  
" no Sir" Suna stepped in, hoping to end this now.  
Savi was trying to register the information now and suddenly realized all eyes were on her, including a frustrated looking Captain..  
" no sir" she managed to let out but not without everyone hearing the the choked tears in her throat.

Savi and Suna finished the last bit of clean up while Simon started on breakfast . Mal walked out of the kitchen first, everyone stepping out of his way rather quickly. Word was out that the Firefly was about to enter some dangerous skies and that always put Mal on edge. This little incident wasn't going to help his mood any.


	2. Chapter 2

Breakfast was a pretty quiet affair. Inara left early for a job she contracted last minute while still on Mobul. Jayne knew that meals were probably the longest time he would be spending with Savi so he tried to make the most of it and got caught staring at her too long by the rest of the crew. Savi was as quiet as Suna usually was, mostly out of embarrassment. No one else thought much of the little episode in the kitchen by now. Mal did not join his crew and drank his coffee while looking at maps and what other ships showed on the screen. Nothing looked too suspicious to him and that calmed him down a bit. He decided to join the crew and passengers for a few minutes. He walked into a quiet room and looked around wondering if he had just interrupted something. Suna looked straight at him, comfortable in the silence. Savi did not look at Mal at all and moved her food about her plate. Mal was ok with that,he preferred that to her seeking his attention. Kaylee kicked Jayne in the shin figuring he better stop staring at Savi. Mal noticed and just took a deeper breath.

"Looks like you all are done. Simon, find something for Suna to help you with. Kaylee, same with Savi ." He wanted to add to make sure the latter actually did some work, but decided to let off a bit and give her a chance, a clean slate.

Savi and Suna looked at one another, neither very happy at the prospect of being separated, but neither daring to cross Mal right about now. Savi liked Kaylee, but it was always harder for her to get her way with women.

Everyone helped clear the table after Mal left while Jayne got to cleaning, Simon walked away with his little helper, wondering what he could have her work on. By the time the two got to his working area he was still thinking about it when Suna said " I can clean the walls and the floor unless you want me todo something else?" Simon smiled and got confirmation that this girl could actually be helpful to him. He showed her some supplies and happily got back to his research. River was not feeling well today and he needed to check in with her as well.

Kaylee and Savi got to the engine room and Kaylee showed the girl a pair of coveralls, which Savi declined to wear. " you'll get those clothes mighty dirty in here then." She warned Savi.

" can't you just give me a clean job then?" Replied Savi.

" don't have much of that down here. I supposed you could organize my books and manuals for a while" Kaylee thought out loud.

Mal, Wash and Zoe were discussing the best routes when an Alliance warning came on their screen.

" Shit!" Mal exclaimed. " what is this about? "

"Looks like the Alliance is asking to inspect our cargo, and I mean right now!" Said Wash sounding a little alarmed

"We got papers for the girls, we are good, right Captain?" Asked Zoe.

Mal had not told his crew about the danger Suna was in, getting caught off her planet, nor had he mentioned that some Allinace officers may have been bought by enemies of Savi's father. Even without that knowledge, both Zoe and Wash had not been too happy with this particular job involving a couple of kids on board.

" yeah well, the little one, she can't be caught here or we could lose her" Mal said, sincerely worried about her. He did not go into the other details.

The entire crew and passengers were summoned within minutes.

" We got the Alliance coming in to inspect our cargo; that mainly means you, Savi. " Mal said looking at Savi.

" no one is to mention Suna...she is not supposed to be here and we are not going to blow this and..and lose her" he said glancing over at the red headed teen.

While Savi understood what was going on, and how she was partly responsible for putting her friend in this kind of danger, she did not like how protective Mal seemed to be of Suna. That feeling was stronger than any more reasonable thought she was having.

" what about me , Captain, aren't you worried about me?"

" you got papers, Savi. You just worry about not blowing this, so I recommend you talk as little as you can, understood?"

Savi did understand, but she was only getting more jealous and mumbled loud enough for Mal to hear " you better be nice to me if you want me to keep my mouth shut". Suna heard this too and her entire body sank. How could her friend say something like this? She felt like crying but managed to hold it all in. Everyone else either shook their head or swallowed hard instead of saying what they were thinking.

Mal thought of how little time they all had to prepared for the inspection and hoped his instincts were right that this was but an idle threat. " you! "He scowled at Savi "you better keep your mouth shut. And this isn't over yet! ". He knew this was challenging Savi but he could not give in to her. He felt pretty confident she would not really betray her friend, but that he even had to deal with this, made him angrier than he had been in a very long time.

Suna understood the last few minutes pretty well and just hoped no one would try and talk to her anytime soon. Mal walked past her and gave her the quickest little squeeze on her shoulder, aware that anything more could make her break down.

" Kaylee, you go with the girls to clear Suna's stuff from the bunk. Bring everything including Suna to the hidden container, behind the engine room. Make sure she's got what she needs for the next...two days, in case we get into it deeper than I am hoping".


	3. Chapter 3

Savi felt overwhelmed by what was happening. She regretted her words almost immediately after she had spoken them and definitively after the looks she saw on the crew. Mal's words had not fully sunk in yet and she was mostly worried about having hurt her friend. This was not the first time that she had done something that had really hurt Suna; it kept happening and she hated herself for it.  
Kaylee motioned for the girls to follow her so they could hide any sign of Suna's presence, as well as hide the little red head herself; Savi did not dare make eye contact with her friend.  
As soon as the three left the deck, everyone else was instructed by Mal on how to proceed on getting Serenity ready for inspection. Thankfully River was no longer a wanted person by the Alliance; they believed her to have sustained enough brain damage after she was briefly captured and "treated" to leave her practically useless. They had failed to detect a substance that Simon had injected his sister with, causing her synapses to fire so slowly as to render her practically immune to the shock treatments she received before the crew was able to negotiate her release. As long as Simon timed giving her another injection correctly, River should be fine.  
Anything illegal was to be hidden in the same container with Suna, behind the engine room.  
Given the possibility of this particular Alliance ship having been infiltrated by Savi's father's enemies, Mal thought it best to inform Zoe and Wash so that they could help with contingent plans. The rest of the crew would only be told that there was always the possibility of trouble and all best be ready to fight and flee.

Two hours passed all too quickly and with Suna and a few boxes well hidden, the hatch opened to grant entry to five armed Alliance officers. Wash had passed on to the officials the scope and trajectory of their travels before they boarded the Firefly.  
No one was surprised at the rudeness and the demands of the officers; Mal, Zoe and Wash tried to read the inspecting crew for signs of foul play.  
Savi stood next to Kaylee and Simon while her papers were taken and scanned. One of the officials asked the teenage girl if she was not going to miss her family while at school; Savi felt Mal's eyes on her as she waited a little longer that everyone was hoping, before answering that she would miss them indeed. Savi never intended to betray her friend; she thought that her pause would send everyone the message that she had the power but decided to do the right thing. Everyone else thought that this little power trip was far from doing the right thing. Mal could feel his blood boiling.

With a silent sigh of relief Zoe closed the hatch door behind the officers. No one spoke for several minutes, while the two ships parted ways.  
Kaylee broke the still somewhat tense silence " Should I go and get everything out of the container, Captain?"  
Mal nodded.  
"I'll go with you Kaylee" Savi said excitedly.  
"No, you stay here" Mal said after taking a deep breath.  
The rest of the crew exchanged glances and raised eyebrows and quietly started walking out of the room. Jayne looked confused but decided to join the others.  
While Savi looked around wondering why everyone had left the Captain began rolling up his left sleeve without looking at the girl; as he got to the right sleeve he made eye contact with Savi and started across the room.  
The teenage girl was quickly making the connection and started backing up toward the door " Mal, Captain, I did not say anything! You better not touch me! " As Mal got closer she quickly changed to "I am sorry!I really am!"  
Mal waited until he had a good hold of her arm and pulled her toward the step ladder "This is what happens when you play with someone else's life on my ship". At that he steadied his foot onto the ladder and easily pulled Savi over his leg. Savi felt off balance and stopped moving just as Mal began began spanking her. He smacked her hard, relieved to hear her yelp and cry and not attempt to make excuses. He stopped as Suna opened the thick metal door, unaware of what she had just walked into.  
Savi, still over the Captain's leg , tried to speak through her sniffles " I am sorry, I really am, please stop".  
Mal looked over at Suna, briefly making eye contact with the sad looking girl before giving Savi a dozen more swats. With that he let her down. "If you think that hurt, try me again little girl".  
" I won't. I won't ever do it again. I am sorry" she turned to face her little friend " I am so sorry Suna. Please forgive me".  
Suna just walked over to her and gave her friend a long warm hug.  
Mal was relieved he heard genuine sorrow in Savi's voice. He walked past the girls, this time giving the older girl a gentle squeeze on her shoulder before leaving the room.


	4. Chapter 4

With the Alliance inspection over and papers to prove it, the entire Serenity crew felt relieved. Not that there weren't other dangers ahead, but at least this one was past them. Having a job with documents had it's advantages.  
Kaylee was busy with a few minor repairs and did not get to spend as much time with Simon as she had wished.  
River continued to study the passengers, mostly Savi. Suna on the other hand was intrigued by River.  
Zoe and Wash were glad neither had been stuck with the girls much, giving them a little cherished alone time.  
Jayne wished their meals together lasted longer but decided he really needed to focus on eating a bit more; watching Savi eat was not providing him with enough calories to work out.  
Inara came back from her jobs for a couple of days, which is usually how long it would take Mal to get over his jealousy.  
Wash was getting intermittent signals from Mobul; all he could make out was that there had been some deadly confrontation in one of the settlement. Mal asked that he continue trying to get clearer signals.  
Savi was laying real low. The spanking she got from Mal had been her first; her bottom hurt but her pride hurt even more. She looked at the Captain differently now, not necessarily with fear, although there was a dose of that..but she wasn't trying to get his attention the way she did before. Savi still felt some jealousy over Suna but was trying not to act on it.

Mal and Inara were talking about her concerns about staying with the ship through the Reaver infested skies they were about to enter; Mal once again wishing he hasn't been such an ass to her when she came back a couple of days before. Just as the Captain put his hand on Inara's shoulder, about to reassure her that he would do anything to protect her, they both heard banging and yelling coming from the kitchen. Simon rushed by them toward the noise. By the time they opened the kitchen door they found Jayne sitting on a chair, his sleeve rolled up, the doctor looking at a pretty severe bite mark; a few drops of blood and all. Opposite the room Zoe was holding a screaming and kicking red headed girl, her arms locked behind her ; this kind of grip apparently necessary to restrain the furious kid.  
"What in Goram is going on here? " Mal asked angrily looking back and forth at the two involved parties.  
"That red headed Reaver child you brought on board bit the shit out of me!" Jayne muttered while looking at his wound.  
Mal looked angrily over at Suna "Well?"  
" That big beast you keep on board said my family might not be alive and the ship better not even bother taking me back home and risking everyone over a little kid - which would be ME". At that Suna tried to free herself again from Zoe's grip.  
Mal, turned toward Jayne " you said that? "  
" Sure did! Ain't it the truth we don't know what went down on her looney planet? Ain't we heard about some shootings? Not worth risking nothing over that little shit".  
Mal looked at Suna and before walking toward Jayne said " we know nothing other than there were some shootings. Not even sure which settlement and we are trying to find out."  
As he got closer to Jayne " you said that knowing she could hear you?"  
" So?"  
Mal got closer and looked like he was going to walk right past Jayne when he suddenly turned and landed a powerful punch right in the man's face.  
Jayne almost fell off his chair had the doctor not caught him. " Captain Reynolds! You may not injure my patient, your crew!" Simon spoke out as he noticed blood on Jayne's face. "You may have broken the man's nose! "  
Jayne was too startled and concerned about the blood he saw on his hands after touching his injured face to do much else.  
Mal walked back toward a calmer looking Suna. " this kind of crap is going to get you the belt" the captain said making eye contact with the disheveled looking girl "let her go Zoe" he said as he walked out the door.

Mal was not even halfway down the hall when he heard some more commotion. He turned around and saw Suna inches away from a startled looking Jayne, Zoe holding her once again by her arms.  
" For fuck's sake!" He said as he slowly walked back into the kitchen. He looked at Jayne and Zoe first, strengthening his resolve. The Captain looked at Suna and reached for his holster belt, unbuckled it and pulled it through the loops and put his gun on the table behind him. The girl heard the belt and turned to look at Mal but her shaking was still mostly anger. Mal walked over to her " You best not bite me" he warned. Mal reached for a chair while Zoe moved the girl closer to him only letting go of her hands after the Captain had grabbed a hold of her arm. Suna did not exactly cooperate but it wasn't too hard for Mal to pin her down over his knees. He gave her five hard swats with the folded belt, each one making Suna cry out; Mal raised the belt again but put it back down and used the hand that was sore from punching Jayne to give her twelve powerful smacks. Everyone in the room winced, including Jayne.  
"I'm gonna put you down, girl. You make one move toward Jayne and you are getting it with your pants down!".

" She don't got to apologize to me Captain? " Jayne asked pointing at his bandaged arm.  
" She ain't gonna right now Jayne" Mal said, more concerned with her heeding his warning than having her apologize. He was watching the girl carefully as he threaded his belt back on.

Suna, tears running down her face, walked carefully toward the door. She looked back at Mal, who gave her a slight nod and then she walked out.  
Savi was on her bed reading her book when Suna walked into their bunk and laid down on her stomach.  
"Why are you crying Suna?" Savi asked, concerned about her friend.  
"I got spanked" was all Suna said and Savi got the feeling she should just leave her friend alone for a while.

Mal spent the rest of the afternoon with Wash and Zoe mapping out the safest routes and scanning for suspicious ships. The signal from Mobul was getting weaker and Walsh was now trying to get some information from other ships that had been closer to the planet the last few days. He had not been able to get any more information at this point.  
The captain was aware that the incident with Jayne was going to have some impact on their relationship; it was not the first time the two had come to blows, but things had been pretty good lately and this was bound to set them back. Hopefully not by much.

Since Simon was busy treating Jayne's physical ailments, as well as trying to calm him down, Kaylee and Savi prepared dinner together.  
Everyone was already seated with full plates when Suna walked in.  
" Have a seat there Little Red..." Jayne smirked .  
Suna looked at Jayne and then at Mal "I would rather not sit, Captain" she said, waiting for Mal to say one way or the other. Mal was taking a moment to figure out if this was the Suna he had come to know, or if he should be ready for another incident.  
" It still hurts " Suna said without looking embarrassed " because of the belt."  
" you used the belt ?" Kaylee asked a little louder than she had meant to.  
Mal looked at Kaylee and then at Suna and said " that I did". His words came out with an almost imperceptible swallow.  
Savi's eyes had grown big. She did not know if she was more surprised to hear the captain would do that, or that Suna did not seem mortified at the conversation that just took place.  
Suna walked up to Mal " I am real sorry you had to do that Captain". Mal looked deep into her green eyes then said softly "I know you are". Suna stood in front of the captain a little longer, wishing she had the courage to hug him but she did not even know if he would let her. Mal thought she was waiting for an answer and added "you don't have to sit for dinner".  
Suna walked up to Jayne who looked concerned and moved his body back a bit. " I am sorry I bit you Jayne" she said, looking down.  
" I bet you are" Jayne said shortly.  
Suna helped herself to a small plate of food and backed toward the wall, truly sorry for the trouble she had caused the crew.


	5. Chapter 5

The following day Jayne was still getting doctored up by Simon. Savi was allowed to help as she was going to school to study old world medical practices.  
Inara decided to stick it out through the few days of dangerous skies. She asked Mal if Suna could help clean her shuttle out. Inara thought she had understood what Suna was yearning for when she just stood before Mal after she had apOlogized. The Companion also wanted to find out more about the girl's family on Mobul.  
Suna was happy to stay busy and did not mind working in a place that was off limits to Jayne. While Inara went through her clothes the girl swept and scrubbed meticulously, every now and then looking at Inara as she tried on different dresses.  
" You are so very beautiful" Suna said as she stopped working to stare at a fully undressed Inara . Inara thanked her and smiled at her sweet innocence. Suna was almost 14 but she was small and thin and looked younger than her age. She had just started developing and luckily had Savi as a friend to compare notes with. But Inara was a woman and Suna had not been around a grown woman like this before.

"What is your family like back home?" Inara asked after getting dressed and having pulled out an old chest from under her bed.  
" I have an aunt and uncle that raised me and they have five children;all of them quite a bit older than me. I never met my parents. It's a nice family but my uncle and aunt are getting pretty old. We have been "marked" for five generations" at this Suna touched the blue design on her forehead.  
Inara was familiar with the practice of some castes being marked for generations.  
"Did your family mind you taking this trip with Savi?"  
"A little. But they were getting worried about the enemies that Savi's father was making. They worried I might get hurt staying at home".  
Inara pulled a silver brush out of a drawer "May I brush your beautiful hair, my lovely young friend?"  
Suna could not believe her ears and happily agreed. She stood by the end of the bed as Inara sat and first untied the red mane and then began slowly and methodically brushing it. Suna's hair was so long that the brush was touching her bottom. "Does it still hurt?" Inara asked.  
"Not much. But I still have some red marks, see?" Suna said as she turned her arm and pulled down the back of her pants a few inches to show Inara " I got it pretty good".  
"Mal, the Captain, he can be pretty harsh sometimes" Inara said, thinking of how mad he made her all too often.  
"Yes. I don't think he likes to do that though" Suna said almost to herself.  
"You are a wise and kind person, my little Suna" said Inara as she continued to brush the thick red hair.

Savi enjoyed working with Simon and did not mind playing nurse with Jayne. This was the only time Jayne would rather not have Savi around. His arm bitten by a little red "Reaver child" as he called her and on top of that a black eye, swollen nose and split brow from Mal's punch.  
Not exactly feeling his best he ended up being short with Savi, preferring the doctor to work on him.  
River sat in the corner watching Savi's every move. She could not understand this girl that was about her same age, about the same size, but acted in such a curious way. Her behavior and the effects it had on others was definitively worth studying, River thought.

Kaylee continued to stay busy keeping the old parts of Serenity in good enough working order. The young mechanic got her hand slammed by a spring that suddenly came unstuck and she gladly made her way to Simon to be taken care of. Nothing much had happened between the two of them, but Kaylee wasn't ready to give up quite yet.

Mal, Zoe and Wash had little time to spend with the crew for most of the next couple of days. No one but them knew how close they had come to being approached and boarded by a ship that most likely hosted a band of Reavers.


	6. Chapter 6

Inara was getting ready to leave for a few days, now that they were past the most dangerous planets. She had thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Suna and gave both girls and River some clothes she no longer thought she'd wear.  
Before leaving Inara spent a few minutes with Mal, discussing routes, dates and as usual, why she was a Companion and what Mal thought of that.  
"Mal, I enjoyed Suna's company these last couple of days. She is a sweet hard working girl" Inara said, not just trying to change the subject.  
"She is. Unless you cross her bad and then she's a little force to be reckoned with" Mal said smiling and raising his eyebrows..  
"I think she could use you to give her more than just discipline Mal, maybe a little reassurance?" Inara tried.  
"I give her reassurance, in my own way" Mal replied slightly defensive.  
Inara sighed "with a nod and a tap on the shoulder"?  
Mal thought about it a minute then said "pretty much. I doubt she'd want more, especially from the man that tanned her butt".  
"Well you do as you see fit, Captain, as usual" Inara said as she lifted a small box of supplies through the shuttle door.  
" sounds about right." Mal replied nodding his head.  
At that Inara moved as to give Mal a hug and right as the Captain smiled and opened his arms, Inara shifted her weight back and gave Mal a little pat on the shoulder. With a smile she turned around and shut the door.  
"Wait, what?" Mal dropped his arms and furrowed his brows.

Suna was sad to see Inara leave. Her new friend had been kind and showed an interest in her that the girl was not used to.  
River was invited by Suna to join the girls in their bunk to try on the nice clothes Inara had left for them. Once they were all changed into new dresses it was easy for them to get into a silly playful mood. River played along a bit clumsily, appreciating to be a part of this game. Savi was most comfortable in her long silk dress and danced around the room " Suna, will you play for me?"  
Suna went for the small canvas bag she kept under her bed and pulled out an old polished harmonica. After a couple of awkward sounds, the little redhead started producing some of the loveliest music the other girls had heard in a long time. While Savi danced around in the rather confined space, River shifted her attention to the music and tears started rolling down her face. Suna stopped "are you ok River?"  
"Please don't stop Suna" River said with an expression that indicated her tears were not just sad, but happy and every other emotion that the girl barely knew she had.  
Suna resumed her music and Savi held her hand out to River, inviting her to dance. To her surprise River stood up and joined Savi without hesitation. Only a couple of minutes to find her bearings and River's dance blossomed into a beautiful sequence of sinuous moves. Savi stopped dancing for a moment and Suna forced herself to keep playing, as much as her jaw just wanted to drop at what she saw.  
Savi joined the dance, trying to give most of the small space to River. Suna played as long as she could and slowed down gradually to ease her friends into the loss of sounds. River slowed her dance, lay down on Suna's bed and fell asleep with both girls watching her and feeling moved by this odd creature they were just getting to know a little better.


	7. Chapter 7

With Inara gone, Suna asked Mal permission to spend time in the cockpit with Wash, offering to clean around a bit. What she really wanted was to be able to look out into the sky, and the cockpit was the best place to do that.  
Mal agreed to let her; he knew Wash and Zoe were enjoying their ability to escape the girls and loved to spend time alone, sometimes by locking the cockpit. The Captain also thought everyone on Serenity should have their turn looking after the young passengers.

Suna walked right in on the merry couple as they were kissing, Zoe sitting on Simon's lap. Zoe saw her first and got off her husband's lap pretty quickly.  
" I am here to work with you Wash. The Captain said it's ok." Suna smiled looking out into the dark skies.  
" No you are not!" Wash replied immediately.  
" Yes I am. I can clean the glass real good for you Wash"  
" The glass is plenty clean Suna. The kitchen on the other hand could use the floor done a little better"  
"Wash" Zoe interfered " if the Captain gave her the A- okay then it's a done deal"  
" Of course. Captain says...and we just do." Wash added none too happy. Zoe gave her husband another kiss and started toward the door.  
" Peachy" Wash said " now let's just hope she's been well fed and won't take a chunk out of my arm..."  
Zoe stopped by the door " Wash..."  
" I never bit anyone but Jayne" Suna defended herself.  
"yeessss, BUT now that you have tasted blood..." Wash could not help himself " and my vaccinations have got to be expired by now"  
Suna crossed her arms .  
"No, Suna, gooood girl, gooood ...want a cookie? Zoe, honey, how 'bout you leave that belt with me, just in case?" Wash said.  
"Can't do that sweets but I don't blame you, she's starting to look a tad annoyed" Zoe said and winked at Suna with a smile and then laughed. Suna did not know Wash well enough to get his humor, but with Zoe laughing she figured it had to be funny so she gave a big laugh of her own. Wash's eyes grew big as he said " boy, well, that glass yes, it could use some wiping, I can see that now.."

Mal walked into the infirmary just as Jayne was about to walk out.  
" Savi, you've done great here, I heard. Now it's your turn with Kitchen duties. Jayne, Kaylee could use your help in the engine room"  
" Captain, I would love to spend more time working with the doctor, here." Savi tried, sounding hopeful.  
"Yes, and I would love to spend ANY time working with Inara, over there. But other stuff needs doing."  
" Captain Mal. I know Suna does not mind working in the kitchen, she's told me so" Savi tried again.  
Mal took a deep breath. "Oh, we're doing that, ok. Suna DID have a good time in the kitchen. She also spent some time over my knees, in the kitchen, for not minding me."  
Savi blushed and started for the door.  
" Captain. I could help Savi. We've been getting along good here, right Doc? " Jayne said.

Simon was about to answer but Mal was faster. " Right. The kitchen really is a nice place for bonding. I reckon you and I, Jayne, did some of our own bonding in the kitchen just a few days ago, ain't that right?" Mal came back, his arms crossed.

Jayne kicked the infirmary table with his boot and stormed out cussing.

Mal smirked a bit and then addressed Simon.  
" How is River doing Doc.?"  
" She seems to be doing rather well, Captain. She enjoys spending time with our passengers and her nightmares seem to be less frequent. She still picks up waves and signals that come through, but nothing has set her off since we left Mobul". Simon reported to Mal, while wiping off the stainless steel table.  
" Good to hear. How's Jayne's bite?"  
" Yes, Captain, I have been meaning to talk to you about that. The skin has healed over just fine and there is no sign of infection. However, there is a rash that seems to be spreading to the surrounding skin. Nothing serious looking, in fact I do not think Jayne has noticed, but I cannot make sense of it at this point. Do we have a report of planet specific afflictions, as regards to Mobul?" Simon asked.  
" Would that not fall under your area of expertise Doctor?"  
" Captain, I cannot possibly know all about a specific planet that we visit. I would have to spend every day just doing research and even that might not cover anything new.." Simon explained to Mal, a bit frustrated.  
" Best get started then, Doctor."


	8. Chapter 8

"Captain" Wash called Mal over to the cockpit "We are having problems with one of the engines. We're losing altitude way too fast".  
Mal called Kaylee to check the engine on her end.  
"We're going down Captain! We can try and hit that rocky moon; no idea what goes down there though!" Wash said turning to look at Mal who was holding the radio to his mouth " Kaylee, talk to me! Can we stay air born like this?"  
Kaylee answered " I don't know Captain, I don't know what's wrong!"  
" Wash, can you do this?"  
" I think so. We may hit with some force,but this moon's gravity isn't gonna suck us down too bad".  
" Zoe, get everyone ready for impact" Mal told Zoe.  
Wash, sweat dripping from his forehead, steered Serenity toward the small moon.  
Minutes later the ship hit ground, skidding along the rocky surface, causing drawers to open and everything not fastened to fly across the ship.  
Mal let go of his seat and looked at Wash "You did good".

During the rough landing Suna was thrown off the crates she was bracing herself to and hit the metal staircase. Her leg got cut against the steel frame of the stairs.  
Mal, Zoe and Wash fared well, unscathed, having had a better visual warning for the exact moment of impact. Mal ordered Wash to stay in the cockpit and try and assess the damage to the instruments.  
The Captain and Zoe then rushed to find the rest of the crew and passengers. They were met by Simon who informed them that he and River were fine. Kaylee appeared on deck shortly after, in tears. Mal ran to her and grabbed her shoulders " you ok? Talk to me! What is going on? You ok?"  
"She's hurt. Serenity. She's hurt and I gotta fix her."  
Mal rolled his eyes without Kaylee seeing him, then patted her shoulder " it's gonna be ok. You're gonna fix her up and we're all gonna help ya. Ok? where are the girls?"  
"I am right here Captain" Savi said limping down the stairs to the deck . Jayne followed behind Savi.  
Mal was glad to see everyone doing pretty well.  
"Where is Suna?" Mal asked just as everyone started looking around thinking the same. Moments later Jayne, pointing behind a crate he was standing next to , exclaimed " over here Captain! She's down" .  
The entire crew ran over to find Suna laying on the ground unconscious, her leg bleeding through her pants.  
Mal got to her first and was about to pick her up when Simon stopped him " Wait! Let me take a look at her first". He kneeled down next to her and checked her vitals. Suna opened her eyes and everyone sighed in relief. Mal relaxed his clenched jaw a bit.  
" You may bring her to the infirmary Captain; I can take a better look there" Simon said, some concern in his voice.  
Mal picked up the girl and as he walked through the hall he asked her " you ok there Little Red?". Suna was resting her head on the Captains chest, thankful to be able to hear his heart beat and be held in his arms. She was not aware of the deep cut in her leg. " I am ok Captain".  
Once they reached the infirmary the bed was cluttered with instruments and Simon was hurrying to put them away. Mal sat down on a chair with Suna still in his arms. While he sat he thought of how scared he was for this girl he only met a little over a week previously. He thought of how glad he was she seemed ok and at that moment he held her just a little tighter. Suna, her eyes closed, felt the slight squeeze. Simon picked up on this and cleared his throat " I should just check her leg right here. The less she moves the less she'll bleed..."  
He walked over and rolled up her loose pants to expose a cut right above her knee. There was a lot of blood but after cleaning it up it did not look too bad. He applied an adhesive gel to keep the sides together, then wrapped her leg with a bandage. Mal was resting his chin on top of Suna's head. Simon finished up and turned to put away his supplies and instruments.  
Suna fell asleep in Mal's arms and the Captain did not move for a few minutes, glad to have an opportunity to hold his "Little Red". Simon turned to look at them and smiled. Mal's eyes made contact with Simon and he carefully got up and laid Suna on the bed. " Take good care of this one" he told Simon attempting to sound official.


	9. Chapter 9

Thankfully Serenity's instruments were not too damaged. The main repairs had to do with one of the engines and the exterior.  
Wash ascertained that this moon was not one with a friendly atmosphere, in the most literal sense; not enough oxygen and too cold to allow anyone to exit the ship without air and a proper suit.  
"Shit!" Mal mumbled to himself" just two days away from our destination and this happens.."  
Kaylee heard Mal and grew more concerned " I am sorry Captain. I usually know when she needs something. Didn't catch a sign or nothin'"  
Mal wanted to point out that Kaylee had been paying more attention to what signs Simon was giving her, or not giving her, than to Serenity. He decided against making Kaylee feel even worse, particularly now that he needed her to be 100%.  
Wash and Kaylee spent the better part of the night working on the engine that caused the problem. Mal and Zoe suited up and spent several hours working on the exterior. River helped Simon and spent time with Suna; Savi worked in the kitchen with Jayne, Mal being too busy to object.  
The exterior suffered damage that would take days to repair completely; Zoe and Mal patched it up enough to keep Serenity sky worthy for a couple of days, hopefully.  
Mal checked in on Wash and Kaylee and was relieved to hear they had diagnosed the main problem. Two coils had overheated and partially melted. The short term fix was a little sketchy: removing a healthy coil from the working engine and using it on the other. That meant both engines running with just one cooling coil and the possibility of both of them overheating. Now it was just a matter of the time it would take to remove the melted parts, replace them and reroute everything to just one coil per engine. Mal thought it best to just stay with Wash and Kaylee and help out while each of them got a little rest and food.  
Once each had taken a turn and they were both back with more energy, Mal decided to finally grab a bite himself.  
The ship was quiet, everyone asleep except him and those doing repairs. At least that's what Mal thought until he walked into the kitchen to find Jayne and Savi making out right on the table, thankfully still wearing clothes.  
Jayne jumped off immediately and met with Mal's fist before he could say a word. The moment he got up he felt another punch and landed against the stove. "You are to leave Serenity the moment we land on Makura you dumbass" Mal yelled while shaking the hand he had used to punch Jayne.  
"Captain, we didn't even do nothing yet, I mean we wouldn't have done much more... Oh come on Captain you can't kick me off ship, and on a Goram main planet too?"  
Mal did not look at Jayne.

All the commotion had kept Savi from saying anything and she barely had moved off the table by the time the punching was over.  
" Captain Mal, please don't kick Jayne out, please?"  
"Savi...don't even start" is all Mal could say to the girl at this point.  
" Captain, but it's my fault. I called Jayne in here and he told me we shouldn't kiss and then I kept doing stuff so he would want to" Savi started to cry.  
" You did not think ? He's a grown man...kinda...Didn't you think I would kick him out? Why make this kind of trouble right now, right before you leave? " Mal thundered at Savi.  
"I don't know Captain. I am all sorts of wrong. I just...didn't think it through. I can't help it Captain, I am all messed up. Please don't kick Jayne off the ship. It was my fault" Savi continued to cry, hating herself for what she did.  
Mal stood quiet for what seemed like an eternity to both Savi and Jayne, his anger showing through the veins in his temples and neck and the look in his eyes.  
Finally a look of resolve on the Captain's face " Savi. I am going to make one last attempt here" Mal said shaking his head slightly " but you won't think it is help that I am giving you".  
"Will you still kick Jayne off the ship?" Savi swallowed hard as Mal got closer to her.  
"I don't know. I have to think about that" Mal said as he began unbuckling his belt.  
"Uhm Captain" Jayne said scratching his head " I reckon I best leave you alone seeing you're about to 'help' Savi here..."  
"No Jayne, you stay since you were part of this problem" Mal said while putting down his gun.  
Savi started backing a couple of feet to the wall, with Mal catching up to her slowly. Savi put up little resistance when Mal took her arm after pulling up a chair. He put his boot on the chair and bent Savi over his leg. Savi was sobbing before the first swat ever hit her. When the belt landed Savi yelped and tried to free her hand to cover herself, but Mal would not let her until he had given her ten searing swats. Mal brought the belt down hard, thinking that this was the one chance he had to prevent the girl from making this kind of mistake again. Jayne winced each time the belt landed and Savi cried out . After the last swat Mal put the belt aside and put both his hands on Savi's shoulders while she was still leaning on his leg. He held her firmly for a moment while she sobbed. " I did not enjoy doing this one bit girl" Mal said before he let Savi up. Savi felt overcome with pain and embarrassment and sorrow. She was having a hard time sorting out her feelings for the Captain. She felt like she hated him and yet she could tell he had acted out of true care and concern. Mal looked at the sobbing girl and hoped he had done the right thing, knowing his skills were limited when it came to raising kids. He picked up the belt and as he began putting it through the loops of his pants, Savi, her voice shaking as well as her body, said " I think I will remember this for a long time. Maybe...before I do something like this again, Captain".

Mal tried to smile at her " that's all I was hoping to accomplish Savi". With that he headed for the door and as he walked by Jayne he looked at the man's bloody nose and said " You best go see Simon. Can't have my crew looking like this when we get to that fancy planet"  
Jayne looked at Mal and almost choked when he said " Yes Sir, Captain".


	10. Chapter 10

"I'll be seein' ya for breakfast, or something..." Jayne said without making eye contact with Savi.  
As soon as Jayne walked through the door Savi resumed her sobbing. She walked back to her bunk; all she wanted was to lie down and close her eyes.

Jayne went to the infirmary to see Simon before breakfast.  
" What happened Jayne? Let me take a look!" Simon said looking concerned.  
" Bunch of crap happened. Savi and the Captain..." Jayne replied.  
" Savi now? What both these girls are out to injure you?  
" No Doc! She didn't do no injuring." Jayne said.  
Simon waited until he had fixed up Jayne's second split brow in a week before he asked more questions. Jayne explained the story with some colorful language.  
Simon did not have much to say to Jayne after he heard what happened, but he went to find Mal in the cockpit.  
"Captain! I don't know what to say!"  
" How's you say nothing then" Mal replied wanting to cut the visit short.  
" I just don't know where to start..Are you going to hand Jayne over to ...to some authority?"  
"No"  
" What he did...what if you had not walked in? And the girl is barely 17...Captain?"  
" Doctor. I brought the girls on board against the better judgement of more than one on my crew. I failed to keep a girl looking for trouble away from a man willing, able and stupid enough to give her trouble. Way I see it, I failed my crew and my passengers and I ain't about to turn myself in either. Jayne stays, for now".  
Simon shook his head a bit " That is one way of looking at it, Captain. If you see it like that...then let me point out than in the last couple of weeks you have punched a crew member twice, "smacked " two passengers..."  
"Yeah. It's been great. Trip's not over yet either." Mal replied and walked out of the room almost running into Zoe.  
Zoe looked at Simon questioningly "What..."  
Simon explained to Zoe what he knew and she left without a comment.  
Zoe found Mal and told him that Wash and Kaylee were done and Serenity seemed sky worthy enough to get them to their next destination. Inara had made contact as well and would meet up once Serenity got close to Makura.  
"Great" Mal said; at least something was going right.  
"Sir.." Zoe attempted  
"Zoe?" Mal turned toward her.  
"Thanks for keeping everything going..Sir"  
Mal looked at Zoe and nodded.

Wash was exhausted from a night of work and once Serenity lifted off he rested for a couple of hours while Mal took over in the cockpit.  
Kaylee was too excited to rest and stayed in the engine room monitoring the temperature and showing Jayne, in case she needed a break.  
River had borrowed the harmonica from Suna and had already practically mastered it. Playing the instrument herself was enjoyable, but River was unable to lose herself as she did when Suna played. This presented a problem and River alternated between playing and figuring out why she could not just simply isolate the areas in her brain and body that were necessary to play, from those areas that she could let go of.

Suna was late for breakfast and told Mal and the Crew that Savi was not going to join them, not feeling that well.  
" Do I need to check up on her?" Simon asked somewhat alarmed.  
" I don't think so Doctor. It's just her butt and that'll be fine by tonight or tomorrow" Suna answered and Kaylee and Wash almost spit up their coffee.  
Mal informed the crew of the details on approaching Makura and delivering Savi to the Academy. The school had their own security system, which even the Alliance had to comply with, which is one of the reasons Savi's father had chosen it for his daughter.  
Once on Makura the plan was for Kaylee and Wash to score parts for both the engines and the exterior repairs; Zoe, Jayne and Mal would deliver Savi first and then see if any jobs could be combined with returning Suna home. Simon would stay on board with River and Suna until someone's return. River would be allowed to leave Serenity but only when accompanied by her brother; Suna would have to stay on board. Her markings made it all to obvious that she was not allowed on any planet other than Mobul.

Suna joined Savi in their bunk, both girls aware of their impending separation. Savi was feeling better and both girls talked about how this trip had brought them closer together.  
Mal appeared at the door and stood looking at the girls. Suna turned to look at the Captain and got up to leave the room after getting a nod from him. Mal continued to stand quietly, not intending for Savi to become nervous, but she did.  
"Captain, I am real sorry to have been such trouble on your ship..." Savi tried hard to keep eye contact with the Captain without starting to cry all over again, her eyes slowly filling with tears.  
Mal nodded then said " It hasn't been that much trouble Savi. Just a different kind that I am used to". He finished with a smile. Savi stood up and almost startled Mal by quickly walking up to him and putting her arms around him. The Captain put his own arms around the girls shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. " You are going to be all right girl".

Dinner was a pretty jovial affair. Serenity seemed fixed up well enough to make the rest of the trip; Inara had made contact and would join right before landing. Savi and Suna were trying not to let the thought of their separation affect these last couple of days together.  
Wash and Zoe left the kitchen right after dinner; everyone aware of their intentions.  
Mal enjoyed seeing his crew and passengers laugh and eat together. These last couple of weeks had not been as dangerous as many of their jobs, but they had still taken their toll.


	11. Chapter 11

Right as Inara's shuttle reconnected with Serenity, Wash was getting coordinates and official permission to land near the Academy.  
Savi was packed up and ready if not quite ready emotionally, to leave the ship.  
Suna quickly visited with Inara but mostly stayed with Savi, both of them talking about plans for the future, both knowing they may never happen. Once on Makura they should be able to make contact with Savi's father and trough him with Suna's family; central and other main planets had the advantage of much better inter planetary communication.  
Getting permission to land so close to the Academy was taking longer than anticipated, which relieved Mal; tight security hopefully meant Savi would be safe there.  
Suna asked Savi that they both visit the cockpit so that they could look out and see this fancy planet as they approached landing, which thanks to Wash happened quickly and smoothly.

Within minutes everyone seemed to be getting ready to leave Serenity. Simon was busy making inventory of his supplies but he emerged briefly to say good bye to Savi, giving her a warm hug and an old medical text that he thought she might be able to use. River was acting oddly,picking up on some frequencies that were upsetting her. Her response to Savi's farewell and hug made little sense to anyone; some rant about the impossibility of this reality existing in the absence of a planetary system that marked time...  
Finally the dreaded moment and Savi and Suna held one another for a long time. When they let go Suna turned and walked away, not turning around until the hatch had closed and her friend was really gone.

Mal, Zoe, Jayne and Savi reached the tight security grounds of the Academy within minutes of leaving Serenity. Only the Captain was allowed to accompany Savi through the main gate ; the two were then escorted to a reception area where Savi was welcomed and Mal had to sign her off. The school official that Mal dealt with was an older woman; she looked at Mal suspiciously and the Captain was glad Jayne was not part of this interaction..  
Savi was excited and sad and a little scared. Mal gave the girl a strong hug and she held on for as long as she could "Thanks for everything Captain".  
" Captain Reynolds? We have a confidential message for you from Savi's father. " the woman said after Savi had walked out with two young women about her age " we were told you are to receive this without Savi's presence". The woman handed Mal a small device mostly made of glass.  
Mal took the device and slid it into his coat; he would wait until he was back on Serenity to read the message.  
It became quickly clear that this area of the planet was unlikely to offer any job opportunity for the likes of Mal and his crew. They would either have to move Serenity to a different area on Makura or use one of the ship's two shuttles.

Kaylee and Wash did not have much luck scoring used parts for Serenity either but they knew where to try next.

A few hours after landing everyone met up again on board.  
Mal, Zoe and Wash went into the cockpit to discuss if they should lift off again and head for a different region of this planet, or, as Wash suggested, keep Serenity in this little safe haven and either fly the shuttles or use the Mule to get them elsewhere.  
Mal was thinking about his options when he remembered the messaging device he had in his coat. He took it out and fumbled with it a little when it suddenly lit up and a holographic image of a face appeared in front of the glass. It was Savi's father.  
"Captain Reynolds, I hope you are receiving my message in private" Mal looked at Zoe and Wash and mumbled "private enough".  
" I am assuming that by now my daughter will have been handed off to her school. I will get to my point here...There have been repeated attacks toward myself and those associated with me. No one has been hurt, but I do not foresee things getting any easier in the near future. Savi's uncle and aunt were relocated by one of their children to a different planet. I gave them unofficial permission to leave our planet. For their own safety they did not tell me where. The girl, Suna, is to stay with me until they make contact, at which point they hopefully will be able to move her as well. To be honest Captain , the likelihood of this happening is...quite low. I will be taking full responsibility for the child and treat her as my own. I understand that returning to our planet at this point is a more dangerous mission and I will compensate you accordingly, doubling the remaining amount that I owe you."  
When Mal looked up from where the image had now dissipated, both Wash and Zoe were looking at him.  
" Of course, had to become more interesting before it was over...Yes, Wash, let's keep Serenity here and use the Mule to explore this Goram planet".  
" Sir, will you be telling the girl or show her the message?" Zoe asked.  
" I reckon I will. It's her life he's talking about. Maybe let her deal with Savi's loss first for a spell".


	12. Chapter 12

Wash, Kaylee and Zoe took one of the shuttles to fly where hopefully they would find the parts necessary to repair Serenity in a more permanent way.  
Simon left the ship to explore with River now that Mal and Jayne were back for a little while. Inara walked along with the doctor and River and then took off on her own.  
Suna had been in the cockpit since Savi left. The view was not much, but she was taking it in as something precious. Pretty soon she would be back on Mobul and that would be the end of her travels..  
Jayne and Mal walked into the cockpit and found Suna asleep in Wash's seat, her hands on the commands. The men looked at one another and walked out quietly.  
Once in the cargo bay Jayne scratched his head and mumbled, barely audible to Mal "Thanks Captain, for you know, lettin' me stay and all". Mal looked over at the man that was not making eye contact with him "You are part of my crew; don't make me regret that Jayne".  
Jayne nodded and the two started getting the Mule ready.

Simon and River returned shortly because the doctor was struggling to control his sister's behavior. Something about this planet was setting off the girl; fortunately the area they visited, near the academy, was almost deserted and no one had taken notice of them.

Wash, Zoe and Kaylee found the parts yard almost immediately and scored everything they needed plus some extras for a pittance; one of the advantages of wealthy central planets where junk was not considered valuable. The three returned to Serenity quicker than anyone had anticipated and got right to work. Mal and Jayne's outing with the Mule did not turn out as successful. The failed attempt at finding work, coupled with Inara's announcement that she had engagements for the next couple of days, put Mal in a foul mood, which affected everyone at dinner. Simon and River stayed in their bunk and did not join the others. Zoe and Wash left the table first " We best get working on repairs Captain". Mal nodded at them, wondering if that was indeed where the two were going. Kaylee asked Jayne to help her carry the heavy coils to the engine room.  
Suna got up and started clearing the table; Inara asked Mal about what all had happened during her absence.  
The Captain, more relaxed and glad to have this time with Inara, told her some of the incidents making her laugh more than once. Suna was quietly working, hoping to make herself almost invisible.  
" It was one thing after the other,either Jayne and Savi or Suna..." Mal trailed off shaking his head. " Mal. They are young; in the old planets we used to talk about seasons, that's how we got the way we tell time even now. Spring was a season when young people were restless, seeking romance, or trouble. Maybe we are cycling through that season now. And they are on a ship, with nothing much to do, nowhere to put that energy" Inara said smiling at the Captain.  
"That energy..they ain't the only ones to have it Inara. I'm not old...not like I get much.."  
"...release..Captain?" Inara interrupted speaking very slowly.  
Mal stared at Inara as he was now visibly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat " Inara. Do not say... that..."  
" what, Mal, RELEASE?" Inara repeated even slower, quite aware of what she was doing. Suna turned to look at the two, not sure of what was going on at this point.  
Mal got up and walked out slightly hunched over, after giving Inara a slight glare.  
Suna knew she was missing something but she took notice of what just happened.

The entire crew got busy getting Serenity repaired and ready to fly again. They would be leaving Makura and making a stop on a nearby moon to see about any work they could combine with returning to Mobul. The earnings from this last job were good and would last a while, but Mal thought they ought to make the most out of such a long journey.  
Serenity was ready to go before Inara was. Mal tried to convince the Companion to skip out on her last engagement and leave with the ship, but Inara declined and agreed to join them in a day.

The moment the ship took off Simon noticed a change in his sister's behavior and sighed in relief.  
Suna was very excited to be in the cockpit with Wash and watch the planet get smaller under them. Once the planet was barely visible she left the cockpit to go see River. Mal, Jayne and Zoe were playing a sort of basket ball in the cargo deck and Suna sat down to watch. After a few minutes, with Jayne twisting an ankle, the game was over and Mal sat down next to Suna.  
" Suna. I have something to show you. It's about your planet and your family" the Captain said while reaching for his coat to get the device. Suna looked alarmed.  
" I think everyone is fine, Suna. You should just hear the details for yourself" . Mal had thought about the message, particularly the part where Savi's father remarks on the unlikely possibility of her joining her family but he decided that she deserved the truth.  
Suna held the device in front of her and knew how to operate it, having seen others do it on her planet.  
Once the message was over Suna stood up and walked a few feet away. She lifted the device over her shoulder with her arm. " Girl. Do not!" Mal stood up wishing Suna were looking at him. Suna turned around and pitched the device high and hard toward the stairs, where it shattered into pieces.  
" Shit! Do I really have to?" Mal almost yelled as he started toward Suna.  
"NO YOU DON'T" Suna yelled out and stood with her back to the wall. Mal stopped a few feet from the girl and looked at her trying to figure out what to do.  
" you don't have to, Captain" Suna said in a softer voice, her eyes filled with tears and a determination not to make them spill over. " I'll go clean it up right now" she continued while looking into Mal's eyes and moving along the wall, past the Captain. Mal watched as she started cleaning up. Zoe had gone to get a broom and handed it to the girl. Suna did a thorough job, using the time to get control of her pain and anger.

Mal stood and watched Suna and he understood why she did what she did. When the girl was done and turned to look at him and Zoe, Mal said " need to talk about the message?" Suna shook her head and said " No Captain."  
At that she walked out to her bunk while Mal turned to Zoe " Think she'll be ok?" Zoe shrugged her shoulders " Hard to say Sir. She is strong, but this can't be easy".


End file.
